Virtual Reality Trends: Co-Creation & Women in VR

I recently came across an article on Fast Company with the following title prominently featured at the top of the page: “Is Virtual Reality Sexist?” I would answer, if so, it is inadvertently sexist; just another example of women being inadvertently excluded—almost by accident, really. The problem largely has to do with biology: women have a greater tendency toward VR-related nausea than men; VR headsets are apparently too physically large for many women, as well.

Daniel Harvey begins the article by pointing out the rich potential of virtual reality. He quotes Chris Milk, who has documented a Syrian refugee camp for the United Nations and the Millions March, as saying he believes that virtual reality “Connects humans to other humans in a profound way that I’ve never seen before in any other form of media…it can change people’s perception of each other. And that’s how I think virtual reality has the potential to actually change the world.”

One way, for example, is by targeting underserved communities such as people in need of occupational therapy, veterans with brain damage, or children with disabilities. VR platforms that simulate physical navigation and sensory experiences can help patients recover faster.

Virtual reality is also on the forefront of product co-creation and the gender balance in tech.

 

Co-Creation

Voxelus
Source: Voxelus website

Virtual reality is looking to be at the forefront of innovation in terms of product co-creation. And it’s really as straightforward as you might imagine: Voxelus—the consumer version of Oculus Rift—users will have the opportunity to create new games. Amazingly, it will only take them a few minutes to do so! For example, users will have the ability to do things such as copy and paste objects they choose to add to the virtual space. Moreover, if you’d like a preview, Voxelus is available for download on Macs and PCs.

In part because of this trend in product co-creation, product marketing is also beginning to move toward conducting market research via virtual realms. Considering the fact that consumers make 70% of their brand decisions in-store, marketers figured it would be in their best interests to simulate a real-life shopping experience as accurately as possible. Moreover, virtual reality—as opposed to real-life trials—is more cost-effective, efficient, thorough, and easy to control.

The bottom line is that consumers want to collaborate with businesses to create products. The more engaged customers feel with a given brand, the more likely they’ll want to engage with a product and share it with their network of friends and family. This is especially the case in the digital world: for example, Apple’s Developer Network that allows iPhone users to create apps to be shared on the iStore; in return for creating the app, creators receive a portion of revenue, awareness, and utility. Because of this built-in social network that exists after consumers have finished co-creating a product, the marketing practically takes care of itself.

 

Women in VR

women in VR
Source: technical.ly

I already mentioned the main problem with virtual reality for women on a basic, physical level. Women have felt especially compelled to get involved with the VR movement: because it’s still on the ground level of development, there’s more opportunity to get involved in a way that could have a significant impact on the way the industry is shaped. In fact, according to one woman in VR, Julie Heyde, a game developer at VR Unicorns, “It’s the wild west.” If the trend of relative gender equality continues in the VR world, in five years, articles such as this listicle pointing out “Five Women in Business” (Why are there so few female corporate leaders at the executive level?) will be limited to the traditional business world.

Interestingly, some are even considering the use of VR to combat discrimination and harassment. Imagine a VR experience that places you in the shoes of a woman experiencing street harassment—an issue that many men simply aren’t familiar with or may not realize is truly a problem. The possibilities are endless in terms of ideas for teaching employees about workplace discrimination, for example. Imagine an HR training session that includes a VR-based immersion in which new employees have the opportunity to understand the lived experience of someone of the opposite gender or of a different race or ethnicity.

Moving on to real life, a recent article on Upload VR offers a number of different experiences from women’s perspectives on the burgeoning VR industry and their reflections on issues to consider for the field, going forward. For example, Nonny De La Peña is a journalist who has managed to utilize VR technology to create stories that truly put people in the shoes of a story’s subjects—what she calls immersive journalism—in order to simulate the real experiences of people in Syria and Los Angeles, for example.

The problems that have been discovered about some of the technology used to power VR technology aren’t merely small quibbling points: they have to do with the nature of who will have access to VR technology; as well as the future of VR game development itself. If the assumption is that women are ‘the exception,’ that assumption creates a huge rift that won’t be easy to navigate, once products are out in full force. Unfortunately, it is inherently sexist to create products that only mesh well with the male anatomy—whether that oversight was originally purposeful or not.

At any rate, 2016 is predicted to be “The year when VR goes from virtual to reality,” so be prepared to hear much more about the wide array of possibilities for virtual worlds, from treating phobias to helping companies to effectively sell products. The future of VR is coming, and it’s probably closer than you think!

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